Lecturers Set for February

AAPG’s Distinguished Lecture program will have a high profile in February, with four speakers set for engagements as plans continue for the inaugural Shell Distinguished Lecturer tour.

Ron Blakey

Chris Jackson

Richard Stoneburner

Rusty Riese

The speakers who are booked for February are Ron Blakey, Chris Jackson, Richard Stoneburner and AAPG Ethics Lecturer Rusty Riese.

Art Saller, previously announced as the Shell Distinguished Lecturer, will be making his first tour in that capacity this spring. His first tour as a North American DL was completed in January, when he spoke to several groups in western North America.

The Shell Distinguished Lecture Program is a new addition to AAPG’s DL program, and was made possible through a generous contribution last year by Shell to the AAPG Foundation. It will endow one speaker annually who will focus on topics in the area of petroleum geology related to Canada, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Ole Martinsen

“The Shell DL program’s content, topics and location of tours are more specific and dedicated to enhance certain topics important to particular regions,” said Ole Martinsen, senior adviser of exploration at Statoil ASA and co-chair of the DL program.

♦ A North American roster that provides eight to 10 speakers annually.

♦ An international roster of two or three speakers each year.

♦ One Shell Lecturer.

A factor in the creation of the Shell initiative was the prior success of the other two parts of the AAPG DL programs, according to Martinsen.

The “solid, working system of the DL programs,” plus the “absolutely top speakers industry and academia can offer ensures quality in the Shell program, and our established cooperation with the international Regions ensures that successful tours can be run,” he said.